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MCES And Tony Salvatore Honored For Suicide Prevention Efforts

Monday, May 4, 2015

On May 1, Director of Development and Suicide Prevention Tony Salvatore accepted the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's (AFSP) Community Impact Award on behalf of MCES.

The Greater Philadelphia's AFSP recognized Tony and MCES for their unflagging dedication to preventing suicide not only in Montgomery County but throughout the region through "a wide range of crisis intervention and emergency psychiatric services." The honor recognized that:

• MCES is one of the only area participants in the National Suicide Lifeline that is 24/7/365, and MCES has been a Lifeline member for over a year.• Tony and MCES created a Law Enforcement Suicide Prevention Taskforce following three local police suicides in 2014.• Tony and MCES created and distributed suicide prevention tool kits to first responders, high school counselors, family members, and, through a project with their Youth & Philanthropy Club, faculty members at the Owen J. Roberts Middle School.• SEPTA and MCES partnered on a suicide prevention project that placed signs for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline system-wide, along 450 miles of railway—the first suicide prevention initiative of this kind in the area.

This is just a small sampling of the suicide prevention initiatives that Tony and MCES are responsible for. The Community Impact Award, bestowed at the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the AFSP's 7th Annual "Party with a Purpose" held at the home of Dr. Dwight Evans, Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychiatrist-in-Chief at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, is a fitting acknowledgement of the hard work and dedication that goes into preventing suicide.

"The recognition is nice, but I appreciate more the ongoing support of MCES's suicide prevention activities by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention over many years," said Tony.

Tony was also honored by Moving Agencies Toward Excellence (MAX Association) in March with its "Service Excellence Award for Outstanding Services."